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When the club needs that extra winger or holding blind, or maybe even a four wheeler to run birds around or move equipment and the "big bad PRO" with 12-15 dogs running says "here use mine" I think that should be apprecited and not expected. And I can think of more than one event where the pro has come up to help with moving equipment or offered one of their helpers to throw or plant a blind too. I see the pros being very accomodating when they are able and not running to 3 different venues to run dogs because the marshalls need them at all 3 spots at once.

When the club needs that extra winger or holding blind, or maybe even a four wheeler to run birds around or move equipment and the "big bad PRO" with 12-15 dogs running says "here use mine" I think that should be apprecited and not expected. And I can think of more than one event where the pro has come up to help with moving equipment or offered one of their helpers to throw or plant a blind too. I see the pros being very accomodating when they are able and not running to 3 different venues to run dogs because the marshalls need them at all 3 spots at once.

I think most all do the same. I don't think there is any discussion that they don't work and help "when they can". They are getting paid big bucks to run and concentrate on the dogs. The owners of those dog have expectations of ribbons at the end of the day.

I will throw birds all day just to get the chance to learn and advance. I learn from just watching and hanging out. Keep the pros! My god we need their money!

Not sure why when the discussion comes to Pro trainers that all of a sudden everyone gets all up tight that folks are bad talking the pros or, trying to eliminate them from the sport. That isn't going to happen and I don't know anyone who doesn't want them running dogs.

What I've seen and others followed comments that more individual owners need to get involved. The pro's don't need to go away, they need to bring some owners or, get the owners handling their own dogs more often.

I will throw birds all day just to get the chance to learn and advance.

How will you feel after 20 years of doing it?

There comes a time when the best motivated will burn out from it.

Howard NiemiYou really gotta be careful about how high a pedestal you put your method, your accomplishments, your dog on. There's usually someone who's done more, somewhere. And they may have used a different method than you did! Chris Atkinson 2013

Hunt tests started in the early 80's without pros. They grew without pros. At some point people wanted success with their dogs that couldn't achieve on their own, and a market for pros was born. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's just a thing. If people had the time, skill and desire to do it themselves they would and save the money, but it's a hard thing to do and I well understand that. Pros aren't going away and there is no reason they should.

But that said, to state that tests wouldn't happen without the pros money is just plain wrong. Without the pros money the clubs would have to rework their budgets, but many clubs across the country are doing just fine with minimal pro involvement - good planning and management will make up for a lot of ill-advised spending.

I've always felt that there is a social contract between clubs, that sometimes my club puts on a test and i work my butt off, but then next week i go to someone else's test and they work their butt off for me. I'll pitch in if I have to, but for the most part I expect the people that I threw birds for last week to throw them for me this week. Where I have a problem, which I think is the heart of this discussion, is the large number of people that never get involved with a club and are always expecting someone else to throw birds for their dogs because they write a check to the pro and that's their involvement. As many have said, the pros themselves are giving back - it's absentee owners who aren't giving back to the sport in general.